“I am very, very disappointed. A fight against Holly would have been the biggest thing in women´s boxing, the one fight every fan wants to see. It´s a shame that it will not happen – but it´s not our fault. We´ve done all we could. I have always said that I was willing to fight her, I have always been ready for her. My team has worked very hard to organise the fight. We removed all the stumbling blocks. We were even willing to go to her backyard. And when she has the chance to give the fans what they want to see, she retires. Really, I don´t know what to say. It´s a pity and I´m disappointed. I will now shift my focus to other challenges, there are a lot of other interesting options for me. One thing I know for sure – true champions do not run away from mega-fights.”

NISSE SAUERLAND:

“We are disappointed to hear that Holly Holm has retired from boxing. She is one of the all-time greats. She deserves respect for what she has done for women´s boxing. It´s sad that a great career ends like this – now she will always be remembered for running away from Cecilia Braekhus, the best female fighter in the world.

“If Holly Holm still had the heart, pride and skills to compete at the highest level, there is no way she would have passed on the biggest payday of her career. We have offered her a six-figure sum. But with this offer on the table, she calls it a career and decides to fight in MMA – for a fraction of that money. That just tells you all about how scared she is to fight Cecilia. The horrible knock-out loss against Anne-Sophie Mathis – a fighter Cecilia outclassed last September – must have changed something inside Holly. She knows she can´t beat Cecilia.

“We wish Holly all the best for her retirement. Meanwhile, Cecilia has other options against fighters who are courageous enough to challenge the best female fighter in the world. That´s how you cement a legacy, by fighting the best of the best, not by retiring when you have the chance to be part of a fight every boxing fan wants to see.”

Cecilia Braekhus & Mia St.John at the weigh in…This would not end well.

Cecilia Braekhus was 21-0 and the reigning welterweight queen. Mia St.John was 47-14 and 45 years old. Put the two in the ring together in you got an absolute slaughter as Braekhus stopped St.John in the third round. St.John was simply target practice for the younger Braekhus as she moved in landing big shots to both the body and head. In the third, the referee had finally seen enough after Braekhus landed a big right and mercifully called a halt to a fight that should never have been sanctioned. Hopefully, someone saves Mia St.John from herself at this stage of her career.

Cecilia Braekhus will face Mia St. John for the unified welterweight titles on April 13th at the Arena Nord, Frederkshavn, Denmark.

Cecilia Braekhus, the best female boxer today?

Braekhus’ record is unblemished in 21 fights with 5 knockouts. She’s coming off a unanimous decision victor over former Holly Holm conqueror Anne Sophie Mathis last September.

St. John is still competing despite being a prehistoric 45 years old. She has a 5-7 record in her last 12 fights, dating back to 2005 when she was shut out by Holly Holm in Albuquerque. St. John was particularly brutalized back in March of 2010 by Rola El Halabi but returned two years later to face Christy Martin in a rematch of their 2002 scuffle (Martin won by decision). This time St. John was able to turn the tables and get a unanimous duke in her favor.

Stating the obvious here, but St. John is way too long in the tooth to compete with Braekhus. Fortunately for “The Knockout”, Braekhus is not a power puncher. Nonetheless, this has shut out decision written all over it.

There was some controversy leading up to this bout as Braekhus defied an order by the WBC to defend her titles against Holly Holm. There is some internet fuel that states Braekhus was ducking Holm, but she explained herself in an interview that Holm did not want to leave Albuquerque. Braekhus stated she offered to fight her in Germany or Denmark but refused to fight her in her backyard. Holm’s promoter states that the problems for this fight concern purse, TV rights and location but “mostly purse”.

Doesn’t look like Holm-Braekhus will happen anytime soon. Both camps have adopted a stance of “you need us more than we need you.” Not really a huge demand for this fight but there is a *want* among hardcore women boxing fans. Holm looks to be turning her attention to the bigger money world of female MMA while Braekhus seems to be the type of competitor who is content with fighting in Europe.